How he was assassinated by the military Former Heads of state connections
By Our Correspondents
Twenty-two years after, the circumstances and actual cause of the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, arguably the most celebrated African billionaire businessman remain shrouded in secrecy.
One account has it that he was poisoned with a cup of tea, as corroborated by the American government, another one says he died of a sudden heart attack or natural causes, given the pronouncement of his personal physician, Dr. Ore Falomo (now late).
But there exists strong indications that he was assassinated.
Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha who died earlier on June 8, 1998, Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha stated emphatically that Abiola was indeed beaten to death.
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of one death that shook the country to its foundations and threatened the corporate existence of the geographical entity called Nigeria; the demise of the one popularly called MKO.
The late Abiola was incarcerated after he declared himself President on June 12 1994, having waited one year after the election that should have brought him to power. He was arrested 11 days later, on June 23, 1994, by the military junta.
Abiola died in suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Sani Abacha, on the day that he was due to be released, on July 7, 1998.
While the official autopsy stated that Abiola died of natural causes, Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, Al-Mustapha alleged that Moshood Abiola was killed. Since then, there had been many theories surrounding the death of the country’s once most powerful politician and richest businessman, while Nigerians had been forced to accept the official position of the government, which says that Abiola died of natural causes.
But today, after painstaking research efforts and digging deep by this newspaper, many more myths have been thrown up. We can now authoritatively reveal that the former richest man in Africa was actually murdered in cold bold. Yes, murdered.
Investigations by our team of correspondents and checks from multiple security sources revealed Abiola was not only assassinated by the military authorities; he was also caught in the web of a power play and high-level conspiracy, which was supposed to see to his freedom, but unfortunately, consumed him along with the late despot, General Sani Abacha.
